Document

Document

SeaWorld, which has been fighting to return its killer whale trainers to the water during Shamu shows, is now battling on another front: trying to discredit a film critical of keeping orcas in captivity.

"Blackfish," a documentary that opened Friday in select markets, not only takes aim at the park for its practices, but also focuses on the 2010 drowning death of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau, who was attacked by one of the Orlando park’s whales, Tilikum. "Blackfish" is scheduled to open next Friday at The Landmark Theatres in Hillcrest.

Orca trainers at SeaWorld have not performed with the killer whales in the water since the 2010 incident.

In anticipation of the film's opening, SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment last weekend fired off an e-mail to about 50 film critics in which it sought to refute many of what it called Blackfish’s most "egregious" allegations.

"Although “Blackfish” is by most accounts a powerful, emotionally-moving piece of advocacy, it is also shamefully dishonest, deliberately misleading, and scientifically inaccurate," SeaWorld wrote.

Representatives for the film, in turn, replied in detail, challenging SeaWorld’s statements.

“I thought I was making a completely different movie about human beings and their animals,” said director Gabriela Cowperthwaite. “After two years, having learned what I’ve learned, I now feel that killer whale captivity needs to come to an end.”

In an official statement that the company has since issued, it states that the film, while billed as a documentary, is instead "inaccurate and misleading and, regrettably, exploits a tragedy that remains a source of deep pain for Dawn Brancheau’s family, friends and colleagues."

It added,

To promote its bias that killer whales should not be maintained in a zoological setting, the film paints a distorted picture that withholds from viewers key facts about SeaWorld – among them, that SeaWorld is one of the world’s most respected zoological institutions, that SeaWorld rescues, rehabilitates and returns to the wild hundreds of wild animals every year, and that SeaWorld commits millions of dollars annually to conservation and scientific research. Perhaps most important, the film fails to mention SeaWorld's commitment to the safety of its team members and guests and to the care and welfare of its animals, as demonstrated by the company’s continual refinement and improvement to its killer whale facilities, equipment and procedures both before and after the death of Dawn Brancheau.”

Cowperthwaite was able to include film footage of incidents at the park and conducted several interviews with former SeaWorld trainers, some of whom knew Brancheau and had worked with Tilikum.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration had previously fined SeaWorld in connection with the incident and issued three safety violations as well. The company has been seeking to find a way to have trainers join killer whales in the water during the Shamu shows since a ruling was issued last year requiring that the trainers be physically separated from the orcas.

Miro Copic, a marketing professor at San Diego State University, said SeaWorld decided to be proactive so it could make sure its side of the story gets out there, even if it gives the film a boost publicly.

He pointed to previous companies like McDonald's and the health insurers not taking significant public stances on documentaries such as "Fast Food Nation" and Michael Moore's film, "Sicko," and suffering for it.

“I think what SeaWorld is trying to do is protect in some ways their wholesome image,” he said. “It’s a family destination, they don’t all of a sudden want to have animal rights pickets out there."